£5,000 reward after raiders steal catalytic convertors

The owner of a portable loo company in Wokingham has renewed his appeal to track down thieves who stole £15,000 worth of catalytic convertors from his company after hearing reports of identical thefts in a nearby town.

The owner of a portable loo company in Wokingham has renewed his appeal to track down thieves who stole £15,000 worth of catalytic convertors from his company after hearing reports of identical thefts in a nearby town.

Russell Pike, owner of A1 Loo Hire, based in Highland Avenue, Wokingham, offered a £5,000 reward last week to catch thieves who made off with four catalytic convertors from the company’s Mercedes Sprinter vans, worth around £3,500 each.

The thieves struck overnight between Sunday, January 9, and Monday, January 10. Mr Pike renewed his appeal after hearing reports of similar thefts in Reading.

Police are investigating the theft of 10 catalytic converters from Mercedes Sprinter vans, identical to those targeted in the Wokingham incident, which were parked at three different businesses in Reading.

Seven vehicles were targeted at a site in Worton Drive, Whitley Wood, overnight between Thursday, January 13, and Friday, January 14, two from a company in Stadium Way, Tilehurst, and one in Little Johns Lane, West Reading, between Wednesday, January 12, and Thursday, January 13.

Clive Owen, a partner at A1, said: “It really affects us because it takes our vans off the road. It’s not a case that they can just replace them either because they have to order the parts in.

“We had one sorted and sent straight back the next day but they cannot stop everything to fix our trucks so two others came back a few days later and one after that.

“We have put in an insurance claim but we don’t know exactly how that’s going to go and we just have to hope they will pay out. But obviously we cannot wait for the insurance to come in so in the interim we have had to pay for it.

“We’ve installed CCTV and security guards and it’s annoying they still managed to get in here. Now we’ve upped the security again to make sure no one gets in.”

Mr Owen said he suspected the thefts were part of a professional operation as the thieves were careful not to damage the convertors when removing them.

He said: “If they were taken for scrap they would fetch between £50 and £70 but the people who took them didn’t cut them off these were unbolted.

“They even undid the wiring and everything. I suppose they could’ve been for an order or sent somewhere like Germany or Poland as special parts.

“It’s the principal of people coming on to our property. The owner has had this site for a long time and it was his father’s site before that.

“We are hoping by people being aware that if it happens somewhere else we can find whoever is doing it and stop it.”

Anyone with any information about the theft can call A1 on (0118) 978 5143.